Four of us got together a little while back to play some cards, eat some food and watch some hoops on a Saturday afternoon. Of course, we also opened up a few good bottles.
N.V. Pol Roger Champagne Brut Réserve. On the nose, this is light and pretty with fine aromas of lemon, ginger, apple, flowers and chalk. In the mouth, it’s tangy and sour-tinged with lemon, apple and pear flavors that are a bit squinched here and there but are pretty and airy in a pleasing way. It features a dry, squeaky-clean finish with lots of fine citrusy flavors lingering on.
2007 Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Blanc de Blancs Cuvee Heurtebise. This bottle was disgorged in July 2012. It is absolutely popping on the nose right now, with totally alive and kicking aromas of biscuit, apple, pear, nutmeg and dark citrus tones that make you sit up and take notice. It’s youthful, but already showing a lot of beauty. On the palate, it’s tight and controlled, very directed and driven. It displays power and energy, but the fine flavors of tree fruit, chalk, smoke and underlying nougat seem like they could use a few more years to fan out and take on some more layering. Watch out for this down the road!
2000 J.M. Boillot Pommard 1er Cru Les Jarollieres. This is an absolutely lovely wine to sit and sniff, with a beautiful bouquet featuring pretty aromas of pressed red flowers, sappy cherries, raspberries, spicebox, leaf pile, sassafras and exotic balsa wood. Of the four Burgundies, it’s definitely my favorite on the nose. On the palate, it features a sappy texture and fairly thick consistency, with some sticky tannin quietly hanging around. The cool berry and dark cherry fruit is more masculine and muscled than the pretty nose might suggest. Although it’s fairly big, with some leather, smoke, grilled herb and iron ore elements, it doesn’t seem burly or rustic in any way, though it could use a bit more refinement when all is said and done. Overall, this is a highly enjoyable wine to drink now or hold for a few more years.
2002 Louis Jadot Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. This wine displays fine earth scents on the nose, featuring layered aromas of tea leaves, smoke, evergreen branch, cherry and cranberry. In the mouth, it has a nice creamy texture, with a moderately full-bodied lactic feel to it. The rounded tannins and plush fruit are supported by nice piquant acidity, giving the wine a fine sense of balance all the way through. It’s showing fine early maturity, graceful lines and an excellent cohesiveness that makes it the best-drinking wine on the table today, in my opinion.
2002 Antonin Guyon Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru Les Vercots. This wine smells of cranberries, spices, leather, ash, earth, tobacco leaf and menthol, to go along with a subtle sense of animale that I find interesting. In the mouth, it’s rather structured, cool and savory, with flavors of tangy cranberry, crabapple, sour cherry and chalky earth flavors. The tannins are a bit sticky still and the personality of the wine feels sort of old-fashioned, but it’s well-made and ought to drink well going forward.
2001 Domaine Denis Mortet Marsannay Les Longeroies. Here one finds a creamy and rounded nose of sour cherry, chocolate, vanilla bean, cola nut, brown spice, wild herb and tea leaf aromas that are fairly big-boned and overt. In the mouth, it’s ripe, sweet and fleshy—with cherry, raspberry, apple and spice flavors supported by bright acidity. It’s maybe a bit more direct and obvious than the previous set of Burgs, but it’s tasty and giving—a nice way to end an enjoyable day.
-Michael